“The teacher who fights is the teacher who teaches”

Nearby, Ana Gonzalez stood in front of the Anton Martín metro stop in a purple coat and purple sneakers. She has been attending the march since 2010, and this year she was accompanied by her sister-in-law, her husband, Argelio, and her daughters. She said she cares especially about gender equality. 

“I don’t have problems with mine,” she said, signaling to her husband and friend, “but there is no equality at all, come on. My husband is a feminist too, so he decided to come along with me.”

As she spoke, a group of women, men and children in strollers chanted in rhyming Spanish: “Here we are, the feminists! Size-38 pants hurt my crotch!”

 “I am a woman who has worked all my life, so I feel it is my duty to come to this march and represent other women,” Gonzalez added. 

Ana Martínez carried a sign that said in Spanish, “The teacher who fights is a teacher who teaches.” It was the second time she attended the march and wasaccompanied by her colleagues. She cares especially about equality and women’s rights in the educational field. 

“Fighting for our rights is a way of teaching students the value of education and justice,” she said, while around her the buzz of the crowd mixed with the sounds of protest songs and empowering slogans. “In the classroom and in the streets, we’re educating for change.”

Grace Balzer was visiting from the States and was captivated by the slogans and displays of purple as she walked down the street. So she decided to join to support women’s rights. “I wanted to be part of it,” she said. “I’m a lesbian…so for me, it makes it even more worth fighting for, especially safety-wise.”